The Wogglebug's Game Adventures 1: Gahan Wilson's Haunted House
by WogglebugLoveProductions
Summary: Mr. Wogglebug enters the haunted house on 1313 Mourning Lane, and must find the 13 keys to escape before thirteen-o'clock, and also rescue a boy named Byron, and find the ingredients to a formula to restore the house owner's true self. The first in my series of the Wogglebug being a helpful friend in a favorite computer game from my childhood.
1. Chapter 1

For the sixth decade in a row the weather of Mourning Lane had been wild and unpredictable. There was no consistent explanation for the frequent thunderstorms, ferocious winds and dark skies. The freak storms were destroying property and blowing down dozens of trees. It was worst on the top of Mourning Hill. Blackouts were also frequent for the town's citizens and soon they began demanding more action from city officials.

A town meeting was called together and those who were old enough to remember when the storms first broke out recalled seeing strange green clouds stream toward the hill and encircle it seconds before the first storm hit. It was decided that someone had to go up to Mourning Hill and investigate. At first it seemed no one was willing to volunteer, but then a strange visitor to the town by the name of Mr. H. M. Wogglebug T. E stood up and declared his willingness.

He was on his way up to Mourning Hill when he stopped at a house just below the hill for the night. An old woman welcomed him in and gave him some tea.

"So you you're really going up to Mourning Hill and you're not afraid?" she inquired.

"Of course not," he replied. "Why should I be afraid?"

"Well, for instance I've heard there is a mansion up there that is haunted by the ghost of its owner, Gahan Wilson," she said.

"Well, I am not afraid of any ghosts," replied the Wogglebug airily. "I mean, after all, ghosts are people too and so fear of them is merely fear of the unknown."

"Well, what about vampires, are you not afraid of them?"

"Well, of course I am not as I have no human blood in me," He replied with a smile. "In fact, I know a vampire who is a good friend of mine."

"Are you afraid of nothing at all?" she inquired.

"Why do you ask me so?" he inquired curiously.

"I ask because no one who has gone up to Mourning Hill has ever come back," she replied very slowly.

Mr. Wogglebug set his teacup down and stared at her. "Are you sure?" he asked. "How do you know? Have you known anyone that that has happened to in the past?"

"I've known many people who've gone up the hill and never returned," she said somberly. "Including my own family. When I was a little girl my uncle Simon Synthesis, he was a doctor in the practice of human anatomy and medicine, went up to Mourning Hill because he had some business with Gahan Wilson and in sixty-five years he has never been seen or heard from since."

"That certainly sounds suspicious," Mr. Wogglebug said Mr. Wogglebug rubbing his chin. "Tell me more about your lost uncle."

"He was always very intelligent and also very eccentric and crafty. He had an unusual obsession with the dead and always wanted to find out the secrets of life and death and he was called crazy and sometimes foolish by his peers and mocked for his ideas of bringing the dead back to life. When he disappeared there was much speculation about what could have happened to him. Some have said he is hiding somewhere and some hope his disappearance from the scientific community is permanent."

Mr. Wogglebug listened thoughtfully and after a few moments he said, "Well, the disappearance of your uncle and of others are all the more reasons for me to pursue my investigation of Mourning Hill, and being myself both Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated I may not only shed light on the problems but also bring about a new day."

"That is most noble of you, my dear sir," she replied.

He then slept the night through at her house and first thing in the morning he set off again on his journey up to the hill. As he approached and morning gave way to noontime the clouds above began to darken and the air began to chill. Thunder was heard and lightning followed shortly after it and finally the whole sky seemed to burst open and torrents upon torrents of rain fell down onto him. The rain fell so violently and the wind howled so fiercely and the thunder roared so loudly and the lightning flashed so glaringly that he ran as fast as he could to seek shelter.

He ran up to the nearest place he could see which was a large three-story Victorian looking mansion. It's paint was faded and peeling, it's windows were mostly broken, and its roof looked rigged, but it would have to do and so he ran right up to the front door and knocked as hard as he could on it. Then to his surprise the door opened seemingly of its own accord and he rushed in immediately.

Once inside he found there was a warm fire blazing in the hearth of the foyer and he stood in front of it to dry himself off. He looked around and he saw doors all around him. There was a large golden one to his right and a large iron one to his left and there was a set of stairs leading up to more doors and also another set leading downstairs. He looked beside him and he saw a giant grandfather clock with it's hands pointing to one o'clock and to his surprise and confusion he saw that there were thirteen numbers on the face of the clock instead of just twelve.

While he was pondering the queerness of this he suddenly felt a peculiar breeze ruffle against him. He turned around and saw a tall shapeless whirlwind whizzing up to him. He stood frozen as it got closer and in a blink it took on the form of a man of average height looking to be in his mid to late fifties with brown graying hair at the sides of his head. His clothing appeared graying and so did his skin and on looking closer he saw that he could see through him and the realization of what and who he must be seeing came to him instantly.

"Are you... Gahan Wilson?" he asked hoarsely.

The transparent figure nodded and smiled thinly and said, "So nice of you to come and visit. Make yourself at home. Just be sure to leave before thirteen o'clock, or else you'll have to stay here forever." And so saying he vanished as quickly and mysteriously as he had appeared.

Mr. Wogglebug stood still as he tried to register what the ghostly form of Gahan Wilson had just said to him. He only had thirteen hours to escape from this strange house he had entered or else he'd never leave? So was that why so many people who had come this way had disappeared? But why? And where did this thirteen o'clock come from anyway? He supposed Gahan had to a powerful wizard of some sort if he could control time like that.

He could hear the storm rolling on outside and he looked around the foyer and saw all the doors leading into to other rooms and he felt curious to learn more about the house. He took the steps to the downstairs to see what he could find there first.

Mr. Wogglebug walked down the lengthy flight of stairs which led down into the basement. Everything around him was made of stone, the walls, the ceiling, and the stairs, though the two doors he saw at either side of him were made of iron. He momentarily contemplated which door to go in when he suddenly spotted a small figure laying on the floor a few feet away from him.

He rushed up to it and found it was a little boy wearing white and red striped shirt and blue shorts and a backwards orange baseball cap on his head. The child was laying flat on his back as though he had just been dropped there and his eyes were closed. Feeling concern for the boy, Mr. Wogglebug knelt down beside him and gently lifted him up from the floor and held him in his lap and shook him very slightly.

"Are you alright, my dear boy?" he asked softly.

The boy moaned weakly and shook his head slightly. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath then opened his eyes and stared wide-eyed at Mr. Wogglebug. "Are you another monster in this house?" he asked rather fearfully.

Mr. Wogglebug smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm not. I am a wogglebug, which is an insect that will not harm you."

The boy looked relieved and slowly sat up. "In that case, can you tell me where the bathroom is?"

Mr. Wogglebug looked around and spotted a wooden door nearby with a half moon carved out of it. "I think that's it over there," he said.

The boy at once got up and rushed to the bathroom door, opened it and rushed inside swinging it closed behind him. Seconds later Mr. Wogglebug heard the sound of the boy vomiting heavily into the toilet. Moments later he came out wiping his mouth and looking physically drained.

"Thank you, Mr. Wogglebug," he said.

"Your welcome my boy," he replied. "Now there are some things about you I'd like to know about you. For instance, what is your name?"

"Byron Price," the boy replied.

"And how old are you, Byron?" Mr. Wogglebug asked further.

"Five," said Byron.

"And now I'd like to know why a five year old boy look you was lying on the floor in the basement of a house like this," he inquired.

"I was lying there because I fainted after that mean Dr. Synthesis showed me a really disgusting severed head," explained Byron. "I can't stand seeing gross things."

"No, I'm sure someone your age should never see such things," Mr. Wogglebug cordially agreed. "That certainly wasn't very nice of Dr. Synthesis. Tell me, do you live here?"

"No," said Byron.

"Then why are you here?" asked Mr. Wogglebug with concern.

"What happened was I was in my room in the house and I heard a thump in the closet so I opened the closet door and something grabbed me and pulled me in. Then there was a flashing light and I heard a yelping sound and then I was here and this place is weird," explained Byron.

"What is so weird about it?" asked Mr. Wogglebug.

"Well, for one thing there's Gahan. He's mean sometimes and sometimes he's nice. I think there's something wrong with him. And this house is full monsters hiding everywhere and you have to run away from the monsters or else they get you. There's a two-headed monster here that eats people, really. And watch out for the dark, that's when the vampire lady tries to get you," Byron said breathlessly.

"Well I'll try to watch out for them," Mr. Wogglebug said. "And I think I see what you mean about Gahan. He was nice to me when I first entered this house but then he also said I had to leave before thirteen o'clock or I'll have to stay here forever, but I don't understand why that is so at all."

"Gahan lets anyone in here but only lets anyone out if they find the thirteen keys," said Byron.

"Thirteen keys?" echoed Mr. Wogglebug.

"That's all I know about it," replied Byron. "It's part of some kind of curse that he placed on this house and the thirteen keys are never in the same places. Sometimes they are, but mostly they're not, and you do have to find them before thirteen o'clock."

"Well, what about you, Byron? Can't you get out of here and go home?" Mr. Wogglebug asked with concern.

"I don't know," admitted Byron. "Gahan sometimes talks about letting me go, but other times he says this is my home now."

"Well do you want to home?" Mr. Wogglebug inquired.

"Well... yes I do. I miss my mom and dad," said Byron sadly.

"So I should I imagine," said Mr. Wogglebug sympathetically. "Suppose you were to find the thirteen keys, then would Gahan be able to let you go?"

"I guess so," said Byron.

"Well, how about this then. You help me to find the thirteen keys so I can get out of here and since you helped me I'm sure that should convince Gahan to let you go free with me," Mr. Wogglebug proclaimed.

Byron grinned up at him. "It's a deal!" he said enthusiastically.

"Okay. So, where do you propose we look first for the keys?" Mr. Wogglebug asked.

"I'm not sure but I think the boxes in the attic would be a good place to look," said Byron.

"How do we get to the attic?" inquired Mr. Wogglebug.

"It's way upstairs from the foyer to the art room and to the library and then there's a trap door in the ceiling leading up to it," said Byron.

"Okay let's go there," said Mr. Wogglebug and they started up the stairs again.


	2. Chapter 2

Mr. Wogglebug and Byron walked back upstairs into the foyer and then ventured up the flight of stairs leading up to the next story of the house and opened a large polished oak door and entered into a room with pink and red striped wallpaper and a large carpet rug on the floor which was covered with very lifelike looking flowers. All around them were paintings and portraits on the walls and at the sides and corners were sculpted statue busts.

"What a magnificent gallery!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug. "Now where is the library?"

"It's right down this way," said Byron.

Just then a deeply cultured and refined voice spoke. "Lenore, do you think today's victim will find the keys and escape in time?"

"Uh uh!"

Mr. Wogglebug looked to see who had spoken, but all he could see beside him was a large portrait of a man with a large forehead wearing Shakespearean clothes and holding a large skull in his left hand.

Just then he heard another voice with a thick French accent speak from behind him. "The pictures in this gallery are very, very lifelike, no?"

He turned around quickly but could see only a large bust that resembled Napoleon Bonaparte.

Then he heard the voice from before speak again. "It looks like today's victim is doomed, doesn't it?"

"Uh huh!"

He turned back around quickly but once again all he could see was the same portrait staring blankly and holding a skull.

Then he heard the voice with the French accent again. "Do not believe everything you hear, Mousier!"

He turned around quickly and once again all he could see was the Napoleon bust.

Just then he heard the voice of Gahan speak to him. "I know you can find all the keys if you try."

He looked around but couldn't see Gahan anywhere. Though he did notice a painting of Gahan hanging just above him. A wild thought occurred to him just then. Could the painting possibly have spoken to him? It sounded absurd, but then he had heard this house was haunted, and if it was haunted didn't that also mean it could also be magical?

He got his answer just then as he continued to stare thoughtfully at the Gahan portrait above him and suddenly its features became animated as its eyes blinked and its mouth moved as it spoke.

"This is important, I must have the Scroll of Thirteen o'clock!" it said. "When you find the Scroll you'll realize I must have it."

Mr. Wogglebug was about to reply when just then he heard the deep cultured voice speak again. "The evil Gahan is always looking for that Scroll. But no one would be stupid enough to give it to him, would they?"

"Uh huh?"

He turned around very quickly this time and he was just in time to see the portrait on his left finish speaking as its mouth moved and it lifted the skull it was holding up slightly which nodded at his question.

As Mr. Wogglebug stared at the portrait in wonder it spoke yet again. "Do you think today's victim will be observant enough to use their eyes and ears to tell the good Gahan and the evil Gahan apart?"

"Uh uh!" The skull in his hand shook vibrantly.

Mr. Wogglebug felt slightly insulted at this and he was about to reply when he suddenly heard Byron's voice call to him.

"Come on, Mr. Wogglebug! The library is this way!"

He at once walked across the room which was a rather long way and stood beside Byron who bent down and pulled out a purple leather bound book from a ceiling high bookcase built into the wall. Then just as the book was pulled the bookcase swung open of its own accord and invited them into another room which they saw was full of the ceiling high bookshelves.

Mr. Wogglebug followed Byron into the library after taking on last glance at the portrait on the wall to the far left as it looked once again at the skull in its hand and said,

"Did you hear the vampiress, the doctor, and the two-headed monster arguing? They can't decide who gets the new body parts after thirteen o'clock, isn't that just like them?"

"Uh huh!" the skull nodded vigorously.

Mr. Wogglebug just shook his head and entered the library through the open bookcase which swung itself closed behind him as soon as he was in. He looked around and thought this house's library was almost as big as the one in the Emerald City.

In the center of the room was a large white table with a big and ancient looking book spread out on it and sitting on a stool in front of was the figure of a skeleton dressed in a ragged robe who was leaning over and reading into the book by candlelight. As they approached him he turned another page of the big book and then all of a sudden he fell off of the stool and collapsed in a pile of broken bones on the floor. Stunned and shocked at the sight, Mr. Wogglebug and Byron rushed up to him.

"Who are you, and what just happened to you?" Mr. Wogglebug asked quickly.

"My name is Noreen Ricketts and what just happened to me was a reaction of the curse I am under. Any little thing and I fall to pieces," replied the skeleton in a weak and hoarse voice that was barely a whisper.

"But why?" asked Mr. Wogglebug.

"It's Gahan's fault that I fall apart. He afflicted me with this curse," the skeleton replied.

"He did? But why?" inquired Mr. Wogglebug in astonishment.

"I don't know," replied the skeleton miserably. "I've never met anyone more greedy, power-hungry or evil than he is. And yet, there are times when I could swear he was actually a nice guy. He told me just the other day he thought the curse on me was terrible and that he thinks there may be a cure somewhere in one of the books in this house. I don't know if he's really sorry or not, but I hope the book exists."

"So then there is hope for you," Mr. Wogglebug said. "You just have to find the right spell to undo the curse."

"A crystal ball, a hand mirror, and the magic book are all I need to be cured," the skeleton replied. "And my search for them continues but being liable to fall to pieces at any moment makes everything take twice as long as it should. I was definitely better off dead. I never asked to be reanimated, but then, who does?" he added woefully.

Mr. Wogglebug looked down at him sympathetically. "How did you get reanimated?"

"Dr Synthesis brought me to life after his assistant Igor dug me up," the skeleton explained.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Mr. Wogglebug asked.

"You can search through this library and find the magic book I need," the skeleton told him.

"Alright," said Mr. Wogglebug. "That way I may get to do some research on this place as well."

So Mr. Wogglebug and Byron set about looking through the immense library. Byron looked through the lower shelves while Mr. Wogglebug looked through the higher ones. He found many encyclopedias and cookbooks and even a few activity books. But the ones that most interested him were the diaries he found.

He found the diary of Gahan Wilson and as soon as he did he opened it up and read through it:

_Creating the Spell of thirteen o'clock has proven to be a very tiring project. Of course, I should expect no less for a spell so powerful that it will allow me to control time itself. It's well worth it, of course. With the ability to control time, I will be the most powerful person alive. The thought of the great works I could perform keeps me going. Imagine being able to run time backward and undo the mistakes of the past, to warn people of disasters long before they happen and even to skip Monday every week!_

_The main difficulty seems to be the enormous amount of magical energy needed to make the spell work. At first I thought that this strange house alone would be the answer. It's filled with magical energy, especially at night. It turns out it draws that energy from the people inside it. The only way to get power from the House is to help the House take it from other people. This isn't a very nice thing to do, but it's worth it in the end. If I only take a little bit from each visitor, it won't harm anyone. Of course, to get enough visitors I may have to open a bed and breakfast._

As a way of relaxing from more important work, and in the hope of improving my own stamina a little, _I've been doing some simple chemistry. There are many interesting substances that can be created __merely by mixing fluid and semi-fluid substances in an ordinary bathroom sink._

I've been experimenting with various mixtures with quite extraordinary results. Who knows what fine discoveries are waiting to be made? If I apply myself, perhaps I might discover a new formula that might help me in my work."

The procedure is as follows: I bring liquid or easily mixable ingredients to the bathroom sink, which is a convenient vessel. I add them one at a time. When I want to start over, I drain the sink. If I want to keep my mixture, I bring an empty flask to the sink and fill it up."

The ingredients that work the best so far are water (hot or cold), blood, poison, slime, toxic waste, bad smells, and bloody pulp. Just this morning I mixed up a formula that may be just what I need. Perhaps tomorrow I'll test it out.

Mr. Wogglebug turned a few pages and read the following entries:

_I suppose I never should have drunk that formula I made. I never thought at the time that it could really divide me into two different personalities, but it obviously has._

The last few years have been difficult. I spend all my time trying to correct the evil things my evil self does. When I found that he was locking people in the house with thirteen magic locks I created a magic spell of thirteen keys. That way the locks could always be unlocked. But I was afraid that if I knew where the thirteen keys were then he would know where the thirteen keys were. And if he knew where they were he'd destroy them.

So I cast a spell on the keys and had them scatter through the house so that no one, not even I, would know where they were. Now when unsuspecting humans come into the house, they at least have a chance of finding the keys and escaping.

The Scroll of 13 o'clock is a very powerful magic item that will allow whoever possesses it to eventually control time. This artifact, in the hands of my evil self, would certainly destroy the world as we know it. For this reason, I must find the scroll and, once it is mine, destroy it.

Eureka! I've come across a reference to a formula which would eliminate my evil personality forever! If I could only find the book that has this formula in it, and then make the formula, I could truly be myself.

He then turned the next page and was astounded at what he read in the following entries:

_I suppose I never should have drunk that formula I made. I never thought at the time that it could really divide me into two different personalities, but it obviously has._

The last few years have been difficult. I spend all my time trying to stop my goody-two-shoes self from interfering with my plans."

When I found that he was helping my victims escape the house by giving them the keys for the locks, I cast a spell on the keys which would scatter them through the house so that no one, not even I would know where they were.

Now when unsuspecting humans come into the house I at least have a chance of keeping them as my victims.."

The Scroll of 13 o'clock is a very powerful magic item that will allow whoever possesses it to eventually control time. If my goody-two-shoes self gets his hands on the scroll he won't use it!

What a waste of a perfectly good tool for ruling the world!

For this reason I must find the scroll and once it is mine, rule the world!

Eureka! I've come across a reference to a formula which would eliminate my goody-two-shoes personality forever! If I could only find the book that has that formula in it and then make the formula, I could truly be myself.

Mr. Wogglebug closed the book and looked through the shelf until he came across a journal of experiments by Dr. Simon Synthesis. He opened it and read the followings:

_Entry 200 - It is imperative that my work continue. They call me mad, but that is only because they fail_ _to recognize my true genius. Here in my new laboratory in the cellar of 1313 Mourning Lane I will achieve ultimate success and vindicate my name!_

Entry 211 - Igor, my assistant, and I are deeply engrossed in my research. I do not find that the presence of the others interferes with my work in any way. I've imparted to Gahan the essence of my Great Plan and he agrees it is a work of true genius. I like him. No one who hates kids as much as he does can be all bad!

Entry 218 - I have finished calibrating the teleporter ray in the monster lab. A simple push of the button is all it will take to project matter instantaneously from one place to another. Reliability is still a problem, however. Much of the time it fails to activate altogether, and when it does, the destination is unpredictable.

Entry 220 - Attempt to project a human with the teleporter ray has not been 100% successful. Igor, my test subject, may have suffered some cranial damage. But with him, it's hard to tell. My experiments continue.

Entry 222 - I have gathered everything I need to create the ultimate monster! Correctly matched human body parts and my animating ray will combine to give my new creation real life! The ultimate monster will never fall apart! It will live! I have worked out the details in my experimentation journal.

Entry 236 - Another setback. A glitch in the teleportation ray has caused a kid to appear in the monster lab. I suspect he must have been in his bedroom closet just as the experiment was operating. If it isn't one thing, it's another. 

"Did you find the magic book yet?" asked Byron.

"No, not yet. But I have found much useful and important information," he replied.

He looked on until he came across a large green book with the title engraved on the cover in golden ink in words he didn't know. Curious, he opened it and read the following:

_To remove ye Curse of Evil, first thou must be pure of heart. Then thou must attain a looking glass and a crystal ball. Be ye warned against the perils of these things, they be ye playthings of the Devil. When thou hast attained of these items, then bring them unto ye afflicted one. Give ye afflicted also this tome and by its power be ye Curse of Evil lifted._

And below this was a strange symbol of some kind which he had never seen before and he knew this had to be it.

"I've found it!" he exclaimed. "I've found the book containing the magic cure!"

"Come on, let's go give it to the skeleton guy!" exclaimed Byron.

So they hurried back to the skeleton who was still laying in pieces beside the table and stool in the middle of the room and presented him with the magic book.

"Here it is! We found it! See?" Mr. Wogglebug said as he showed him the strange symbol on the cover.

"Now that I have this spell all I need is a crystal ball and a hand mirror and I can break the curse," said the skeleton with a sense of renewed hope.

"Well, we'll find them for you, I promise," Mr. Wogglebug assured him

"We'll look in the attic," said Byron. "It's right up there." He pointed to what looked like a trapdoor in the bottom of the ceiling with a ladder pressed against a bookcase leading up to it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Mr. Wogglebug and Byron climbed up the ladder and entered the attic which was a rather small room compared with the rest of the house. There was dust and cobwebs everywhere and boxes and trunks were strewn about and there was also a stack of old papers in one corner and there was an old rocking horse set in another corner.

"Well, here we are, so now let's start looking," Mr. Wogglebug suggested.

So he and Byron went up to the first boxes they could see and the first one they opened contained nothing but a lot of moths which flew out and away.

"Well, they are many boxes up here so we're sure to find something," Mr. Wogglebug said optimistically.

So they rummaged through more boxes and they found many items such as a bagpipe, a mallet, a fish bowl, a Swiss army knife, a tuba, a music box, an arrow dart, a record, a violin, a film record, a bottle of poison, a circuit board, a vacuum tube, a container of toxic waste and radioactive waste.

"Look at all the toys I found in here!" exclaimed Byron as he gestured to a large brown box which inside it had a big stuffed teddy bear, a wind-up toy car and a colorful beach ball

"Those are very nice things," said Mr. Wogglebug. "Let's keep them and other stuff we've found in this old carpet bag here." He picked up a green carpet bag laying nearby and they packed all the items they could find into it.

He noticed the stack of old newspapers laying close by and glancing at the first one sparked his interest and so he picked it up and read the following inscription:

**Child Mysteriously Disappears  
**Police are baffled by the mysterious disappearance of five year old Byron Price from his home on Mourning Lane. Mrs. Price claims she last saw her son alone in his second story bedroom. "I checked his bedroom about eight o'clock to see if he was asleep yet because I thought the awful thunder and lightning would scare him, and he was gone. Just gone." The police have no leads.

And below was a picture of Byron with the following captions:

**Missing Child  
Byron Price  
Age: 5  
Last seen: His Bedroom**

He set the paper aside and picked up the one underneath it and read the following:

**Monster stalks quiet suburban community  
**Experts are baffled. A two-headed monster was sighted in the residential area known as Mourning Hill. Although the area is known for reports of "strange unexplained phenomena" this is the first report of a two headed monster. Terrified residents were found cowering in basements and some were incoherent. The investigation will continue as police search for the monster.

He set this paper on top of the last one and picked up the one underneath and was intrigued at what he read:

******Wanted: Igor for Grave Robbery and Grand Larceny.**

Wanted: Dr. Synthesis for Grave Robbery, Unlicensed Handling of Dangerous Materials, Fraud and Malpractice.

Mr. Wogglebug opened the last box he could see which resembled a golden treasure chest and inside it he found an old brown book, and a crystal ball. He then discovered a stack of old clothes covering the bottom of the box and he took them out and underneath them he found a hand mirror and a small golden key.

"Oh my! Look at what I found!" he exclaimed victoriously. "Not only do we now have the crystal ball and hand mirror, but we also have our very first key!"

"One down and twelve more to go!" said Byron enthusiastically.

"Now let's go back down to the library and give our friend the cure he has been looking for!" Mr. Wogglebug exclaimed with delight.

So he put the stuff into the carpet bag and picked it up and reached for the trapdoor leading out of the attic, however just as he did he suddenly heard a loud whinnying and the sound of old metal scraping against the wooden floor. He looked up quickly and saw to his great astonishment the old rocking horse had come to life and was moving towards them with an angry snarl on its face. He jumped away quickly and as soon as he did the rocking horse landed abruptly onto the trapdoor, blocking their way out.

Just then a small white box nearby popped open and out of it appeared the head of a vampire with a neck like an accordion. Byron screamed a little and hid behind Mr. Wogglebug.

"Rocky has blocked the trapdoor, now you're caught! Good work, Rocky!" the vampire head exclaimed maliciously. "You're not going anywhere until you give us something from your bag!"

"What! But that is unfair!" Mr. Wogglebug exclaimed indignantly.

"You cannot leave this room until we let you and we won't let you until you give us something!" the vampire head reiterated adamantly.

So Mr. Wogglebug opened the bag and looked through it for a moment before he took out the fish bowl they had found and put it in the box the vampire head was in.

"There. Now will you let us go?" Mr. Wogglebug asked testily.

"Did I say one thing?" the vampire head said mockingly. "I meant two things! Give us more or you'll never get out of this attic!"

Mr. Wogglebug groaned in exasperation and dug into his bag once more and he picked out the arrow dart and put it into the vampire's box. "I hope you realize this is robbery," he said vehemently.

"You think what we're doing is robbery?! I'm insulted!" the vampire head exclaimed in outrage. "Rocky and I aren't common robbers! We're extortionists!"

Mr. Wogglebug glared at the vampire head which only smirked and said to the rocking horse, "Move away from the trapdoor now, Rocky."

The rocking horse snorted loudly. "Okay, I'll move, but it won't be this easy next time!" And so saying the horse rocked backwards to its original spot and retained its harmless looking appearance.

Then Mr. Wogglebug and Byron took their bag of stuff and opened the trapdoor and climbed back down the ladder and into the library again. They quickly found the skeleton lying in a broken mess on the floor and presented him with the two items one at a time.

"Wow! I have the spell book and the crystal ball! All I need now is a hand mirror!" he exclaimed when they gave him the crystal ball.

Mr. Wogglebug smiled and reached into the bag again and took out the hand mirror and presented it to him.

The skeleton gave a very toothy smile and said, "Now you must hold the mirror up to the crystal ball while facing me and recite the magic spell."

So Mr. Wogglebug did so and when he did the book began to glow and a bright beam of light shot out from it and struck the crystal ball which bounced onto the mirror which the skeleton was holding and began to glow a brilliant light which began encircling him and all at once his broken bones put themselves back into place and he stood up and stretched out and raising his arms high into the air he cried out:

"Eureka! The curse is broken! I'll never fall apart again! Thank you both so much!"

Mr. Wogglebug smiled and bowed. "You're welcome, my friend! And I have found out some information of importance. The scroll that Gahan wants so desperately is an ancient piece of magic which supposedly would allow the user to rule time and thereby the world."

"Little wonder why Gahan wants it," said the skeleton.

"And the reason why Gahan is sometimes mean and sometimes nice is because he drank a formula which split himself into two dual personalities," Mr. Wogglebug continued. "It's like in a story I read called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Anyway, there is a cure for it and we should make it and give it to him before we find the Scroll to be sure it won't be used for evil."

The skeleton nodded. "And be sure you give the formula to the right Gahan first."

"But how will we know which is the right and wrong Gahan?" asked Mr. Wogglebug.

The skeleton thought about this for a moment and then replied. "He is a ghost you know, and therefore he floats and sometimes his feet point to the left and sometimes they point to the right. I think that may have something to do with it. Also, if Gahan's eyes are glowing watch out!"

"Thank you, that is very helpful," said Mr. Wogglebug. "Can you tell us anything else we should know?"

The skeleton nodded and replied, "There's something very odd about this house. If it were possible for places to be good or evil, I'd say this place is evil if any place is. As the hours go by, the house gets darker and more brooding and the monsters are definitely more active and more dangerous. Evil seems to pervade everything here. I've seen the nicest people in this house turn vicious and vengeful. Can you ever really trust anyone here? I've seen them all attack and curse innocent victims."

"Hmm... Byron did mention about the monsters. He said you have to run away from them when you see them. But how can we avoid them altogether?" asked Mr. Wogglebug.

"Be very careful opening trunks, cabinets, and closets. Monsters can hide in anything," the skeleton replied seriously. "But anybody in this house can turn into a monster if you push them to far. So you can't really trust anyone." He glanced down at Byron. "Though trust the kid, at least he's honest, and of course you can trust me, and to prove it I give you this as a token of my gratitude."

And so saying he pulled out a key from inside his robes and presented it to Mr. Wogglebug.

"Oh my! Thank you! I wasn't expecting this!" Mr. Wogglebug exclaimed as he put the key away in his bag.

"You can probably get a key from anyone if you're careful," said the skeleton.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Mr. Wogglebug. "Now I think we should look for the ingredients of anti-formula to cure Gahan."

"But how will we know the right ingredients to use?" asked Byron.

"They're all in this book," Mr. Wogglebug explained as he took the old brown book they had found in the attic out of the bag and showed him that on the cover read _Formulas_.

He opened the book and flipped through the pages until he came to the chapter titled _Formula 429_ and read the following directions:

_Step one: Empty the bathroom sink._

_Step two: Be certain to have an empty flask on hand._

_Step three: Mix together the following substances in the sink: Slime, toxic waste, and poison._

_Step four: Add a quantity of cold water._

_Step five: Bring the empty flask to the sink to fill with the contents._

_Step six: Handle this formula with care. It is corrosive, toxic, mutagenic, combustible, caustic, adhesive, dilettante, carcinogenic, and harmful to the ozone layer._

"So we need slime, toxic waste, and poison," Mr. Wogglebug concluded as he closed the book. "We have the bottle of poison as well as the container of toxic waste we found, so now we need some slime. Where can we get them?"

"Probably in the kitchen," said Byron. "There's always lots of gross stuff in it."


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Wogglebug and Byron left the library the same way they had come in by pulling out the last book in the bottom of the bookcase which swung open for them. They entered once again into the art gallery. Mr. Wogglebug surveyed the surroundings once again. He looked to the left of him at the portrait of the medieval clothed man.

"To be or not to be, that is the question!" the portrait said in its deep baritone voice as it held up the skull in its left hand.

"Uh uh!" the skull in his hand shook itself in annoyance.

"Lenore, you're not angry with me, are you?" the portrait asked the skull which nodded rapidly.

Just then they heard the sound of the grandfather clock in the foyer chiming twice meaning that a whole hour had just passed by. Mr. Wogglebug at a slight chill run down his spine as he heard it.

The portrait of Gahan on the wall above him spoke to him just then. "It's getting later but there's still time left. Remember I'm on your side," it said in a kindly voice.

"Gahan, he is such a good friend, no?" said the statue of Napoleon in the corner.

Mr. Wogglebug looked to it and smiled. "When he is his good self I'm sure."

"The flowers on this carpet are tres, tres mystique, nes pas?" the statue said looking down slightly.

Mr. Wogglebug looked down and glanced at the light pink flowers on the darker pink carpet and thought there was something vaguely peculiar about them but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He started to walk forward and when he was halfway across the room he stumbled and fell down on the carpet right onto one of the flowers. Then he suddenly heard a stretching and creaking noise coming from down below and he quickly moved away.

Then suddenly from out of the flower sprang a giant flower with thorny stems and gnarled petals and a horrible face with an expression full of hate and glaring eyes. He was horrified as he watched it shake its limbs violently at him and let out the most horrendous sounding shriek he had ever heard. Then he suddenly felt very dizzy, the room started spinning and he fell backward and passed out momentarily.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Byron worriedly as he came over and knelt down beside him.

"I... I don't know," he replied hoarsely. He sat up and opened his eyes and found that everything in the room was in shades of blindingly bright colors, including Byron as his skin was dark blue and his hair was bright green and his clothing had turned stunning shades of violet and orange and yellow. And he saw that the room and things all around him reflected these strange color rearrangements. Then suddenly the colors shifted themselves and now Byron had dark green skin and blue-black hair.

Byron could see his eyes rolling around from the strain of the colors and said to him, "I think you've just been cursed by a monster."

"I have?" he asked, though it seemed more like a statement.

The portrait with the skull in its hand spoke up just then. "The monsters in this house attack with magical curses. The curses are meant to confuse things to keep the victim from finding all the keys. Curses are dangerous. Believe me, I know. If one gets the same curse too many times one can start losing hours on the clock and that's not good, is it?"

"Uh uh!" the skull in his hand replied.

Mr. Wogglebug closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. "Oh dear me!" he moaned. "What will I do now!"

"All you can do now is wait for it to wear off. The curses never last for very long," said Byron consolingly.

And so they waited for five minutes and Mr. Wogglebug kept his eyes closed all the while then he looked up and opened his eyes again and much to his relief he found that all the colors of the room had been restored to their originals.

"Everything is back to normal now!" he said with a deep sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's get out of here before the monster comes back," said Byron anxiously.

Mr. Wogglebug agreed and they got up and headed quickly to the door leading out of the gallery.

"Be careful what you touch, it might touch you back," the statue on the corner said to them as they passed.

"I will keep that in mind," Mr. Wogglebug assured him.

They left the gallery and walked down the stairs into the foyer where sure enough they found the hands on the grandfather clock were now pointing to two o'clock.

"Which is the door to the kitchen?" Mr. Wogglebug asked.

"It's this way, through the menagerie," replied Byron as he led him to a door made of solid iron on the left.

They opened the door and entered into a room in which they found a giant iron barred cage with a giant hairy creature curled up and sleeping inside of. Beside of it was a large fish tank with a large orange fish in it with long sharp teeth which resembled a piranha. Pasted on the tank was a sign which read Do Not feed the Fish. Just above it was a bent and crooked wire cage with a giant purple bird inside of which was currently squawking its head off.

"So this is the menagerie," said Mr. Wogglebug.

"Yep. These are all Gahan's pets," said Byron.

"Awk! Feed the fish! Make it grow!" the bird squawked in a rather annoying voice.

Mr. Wogglebug looked at the fish and thought it did look hungry. He spotted a bucket full of tuna fishes nearby. He picked out the largest one he could find and dropped it into the fish tank. The fish inside at once devoured it viciously while making growling noises. Then suddenly it grew twice its size and jumped in the water with its teeth now longer and sharper than before.

"Ooh, I wonder what this thing is," Byron mused as he walked up to the sleeping giant hairy creature in the cage and started poking at it.

Mr. Wogglebug became slightly alarmed. "Uh... Byron... I don't think that is such a good idea," he cautioned him.

"Awk! Don't annoy the gorilla!" the bird squawked from above.

But it was too late and Byron had poked the gorilla awake. It opened one eye and then other as it slowly uncurled itself and turned to face them with a very annoyed expression as it growled under its breath.

Mr. Wogglebug thought quickly and looking around he spotted a bag that was marked Monster Chow on it. He reached into it and pulled out a handful of tiny gingerbread men like treats. He held them out at arms length to the gorilla which took them in its massive paw and devoured them in one bite and gulp and then it burped with satisfaction.

"Come on, the kitchen is through here," said Byron gesturing to another iron door to the far left.

So he and Mr. Wogglebug went through it and entered into the kitchen which looked rather normal. There was a stove in one corner with a large pot resting on top of it and a cabinet with a shelf stacked with ingredients on it in another corner and just beside it was a metal garbage can.

"Well, now let's start looking for the slime we need for the formula," said Mr. Wogglebug. "And, who knows? Maybe we'll even find another key in here."

"Aw, forget about finding all the keys. You don't have a chance. The house cheats anyway," said a deep and grumpy voice from somewhere around them.

Mr. Wogglebug looked around him but could see no one else in the room. "Who said that?" he asked quiveringly.

"Down here," said the voice. He looked down and saw only the metal garbage can. He stepped closer to it and looking over it he saw that there was a deep set frowning face in it.

"Did you speak?" he asked, feeling rather silly about asking this to a garbage can.

"Let me tell you a secret," said the garbage can, "I used to be just like you. But I didn't find the thirteen keys in time. So now, here I am. Being a garbage can ain't that great. But I guess it's better than being a toilet."

"I'm sorry," said Mr. Wogglebug. "I wish I could help you. Can you tell us where to find some slime?"

"Try looking in here," said the garbage can gruffly. It tilted itself slightly so that its lid slid off partially.

Mr. Wogglebug took the hint and looked inside of the garbage can's contents and he found many disgusting things including a dead fish, a dead rat, a dead bat, a plate of worms, and hordes of other non-descriptive stuff. It also smelled quite bad inside. But then suddenly he found what he was looking for, a sealed bag that was labeled Slime on it. He took it out and put it in the bag and underneath it he found another key.

"Can you believe someone threw this out?" asked the garbage can. "Some people just don't realize the value of things."

Mr. Wogglebug chuckled and then put the key away in the bag.

"Come on now, let's go make the formula for Gahan," he said to Byron.

They turned to leave the kitchen but there was someone in there who was blocking their way. It was a man sized creature with two green heads, one on the left and one on the right, and was wearing yellow jacket with a pink and purple spotted shirt underneath, purple pants, and brown shoes. Within a second it occurred to Mr. Wogglebug that this must be the two-headed monster he had read about in the paper.

"Who are two, may I ask. And why are you here?" He asked rather unnerved.

"I am Herbert," said the head on the left. "And I am Chauncey," said the head on the right. "And we're here because we're hungry and we thought we smelled something delicious coming from in here."

"Well, what is it you like to eat?" asked Mr. Wogglebug as he eyed them uneasily.

"Oh the average stuff," replied Chauncey casually. "Eyeballs, guts, hearts, or brains."

Byron cowered slightly behind Mr. Wogglebug as he said, "So in other words you like things that are dead?"

"Yep! That's it!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"Well... There are some things in here you might like," he said as he opened the garbage can again and took out a dead bat and handed it to the two-headed monster.

"Do we like this?" Chauncey asked his twin.

"Yeah! We love it!" Herbert exclaimed heartily. And so saying he devoured the dead bat in one gulp.

"Hey, I'm still hungry!" complained Chauncey. "Give us more!"

"Alright. Alright," said Mr. Wogglebug. He reached into the garbage can again and took out a plate full of dead worms and gave it to them.

"Congratulations!" exclaimed Chauncey. "I don't think we've ever been given anything more disgusting!"

"Sure we have," said Herbert. "Remember Mom's apple pie?" And then they devoured it plate and all in an instant.

"Speaking of pie, look what's in here," said Byron as he opened the oven door and found there was some sort of pie in it. It looked very unappetizing as it many odd things sticking out of it like a pair of crows feet and caterpillars and a snake's head.

Byron looked as if he might faint at the sight and smell of it but the two-headed monster began to drool while looking at it.

"Look! A horrible, disgusting thing!" exclaimed Herbert.

"Makes me hungry," added Chauncey.

"Here, take it!" exclaimed Byron, gladly handing it over to them.

The two-headed monster split the pie in two halves and then put the pieces into both of their mouths and hungrily munched away at it. Then suddenly Chauncey coughed and gagged and something popped out of his mouth.

"What's this? How did that thing get in there?" he wondered as he stared at it. It was a key.

Mr. Wogglebug smiled as he eagerly picked the key and put it away in the bag. "It seems we can find keys just about anywhere!"


	5. Chapter 5

Mr. Wogglebug and Byron left the kitchen and passed through the menagerie and then entered into the foyer where they went down the stairs leading into the basement once again.

They entered into the bathroom which they found like quite ordinary. It had a toilet and a sink and a mirror above it. Mr. Wogglebug also noticed there was an empty glass flask resting on the edge of the sink. So he turned on the sink and ran some cold water. Then he opened the bag and proceeded to pour the ingredients into the water, the toxic waste, the poison, and the slime.

The water turned a dark green color, and then a sickly yellow, and then a dark red. He took the empty flask and filled it to the brim with the substance.

"There. Now all we have to do is find Gahan and give this to him," he said. "Where do you think we'll find him?"

"You can't really find him anywhere," replied Byron. "He just shows up."

"Like when I first met him. I see," he said. "Well, we can't just stand around here waiting. We must continue our search for the rest of the thirteen keys."

So they left the bathroom and walked out into the basement hallway. Then suddenly they heard a loud and almost maniacal voice ring out and echo of the walls.

"Igor! Get me a vacuum tube, a circuit board, and a mechanical spring!"

"Who is that?" he asked rather stunned.

"That's Dr. Synthesis in the monster lab over there," said Byron. "He is really mean and if you don't give him what he wants he gets mad and yells and breaks things."

"Hmm... Even so I think I would like to make his acquaintance," said Mr. Wogglebug. "There are a few things I have to say to him."

Just then they heard the mad doctor's voice ring out again. "Igor! This liver has dirt on it!"

"Of course it has dirt on it," replied a slow, gravelly voice. "I got it out of a grave."

They reached the door of the monster lab and with a bit of effort pushed it open. They found a short bald old man with hollow cheeks and sallow skin wearing a white lab coat ranting wildly at another shorter and hunchbacked man with messy hair and crooked teeth.

"Ahem! Excuse me, Dr. Synthesis!" Mr. Wogglebug called out.

Dr. Synthesis whirled around and gasped as he exclaimed, "How dare you disturb my planning!"

"A thousand pardons," Mr. Wogglebug said. "I'm awfully sorry. What are you planning anyway?"

"Why my great plan to build the Ultimate Monster!" declared Dr. Synthesis. "I have tried to create artificial life in the past put it always fell apart and never lasted for very long. The Ultimate Monster will not fall apart! It will walk and talk! One day I'll create millions of monsters! One for every child's closet which I will teleport to with my new teleportation ray as soon as I find a circuit board for it!"

"I'm sorry but I don't see the greatness in a plan like that," said Mr. Wogglebug plainly.

"I'm afraid if you need to ask you won't understand the answer even if I explain it," Dr. Synthesis said with a sneer. "I will win a Nobel Prize for my achievement and laugh at anybody who ever made fun of me!" He let a loud and long maniacal laugh.

Something occurred to Mr. Wogglebug just then. "That was how Byron was brought here, wasn't he?" he said accusingly to Dr. Synthesis.

The doctor frowned. "Yes. Well, I certainly didn't send him here on purpose."

"Well, if you don't want him here and have no need for him either you should most certainly send him home again," Mr. Wogglebug continued pointedly.

"The Good Gahan knows there's a kid in the house by accident so of course he wants to let him go. But the Evil Gahan knows there's a kid in the house and he won't let him out," replied Dr. Synthesis testily. "He's really beside himself on this one. And I thought I had problems. I'm glad I'm not Gahan."

"Well, Gahan may be able to make up his mind very soon," Mr. Wogglebug said. "For I have just made the formula that will cure him of his identity crisis."

"Well, good for you," said Dr. Synthesis rather sarcastically. "But the kid is of some use to me though. He is an excellent test subject." And so saying he brought out something from behind his back and stuck it into Byron's face. "Look what I have for you, young man! A pile of slimy, oozing guts!"

"What!? Guts! Ewww!" Byron exclaimed in nauseated horror just before he collapsed onto the floor out cold.

Dr. Synthesis smirked as he took out a clipboard and wrote on it. "I'll add that to the list. Kids faint at the sight of... eyeballs... garbage can puke... and guts!"

Mr. Wogglebug stared open-mouthed at what he had just seen the mad doctor do. He felt so unnerved, so astonished, so sick by it.

"How dare you frighten Byron deliberately! How dare you even think of sending monsters into childrens closets just to scare them! It's so inhumane!"

"I don't care what you or anyone else thinks of my ideas, I never have," Dr. Synthesis declared mockingly. "I've always had people criticizing me, but it won't be for much longer!"

He then turned to his hunchbacked assistant. "Igor, is the creature ready to be brought to life?"

"Not quite yet, Doctor," replied Igor. "It is still missing the brain and the heart and without those two important elements it will never function."

"Igor, what happened to the brain and heart I was saving in the monster lab?" he demanded sternly.

"Why is everything always my fault?" Igor complained. "The two headed monster probably ate it."

Mr. Wogglebug looked at the so called creature that was spread out on the slab in the middle of the room. It was very big and tall and looked quite heavy and bulky. It was dressed in dark clothing and had greenish skin with dark circles under its eyes and it had a thin cutting of gray hair on its rather squared head.

"Well, I just happen to have a brain and a heart with me which I found in two big trunks the attic. I would willingly give them to you to use for your creation on the condition that you promise not to use it for evil purposes."

Dr. Synthesis seemed to be considering this for a while and then he smiled coyly and replied, "Very good. Help me, I'll help you, and we'll both benefit."

And so Mr. Wogglebug took the heart and brain out of the bag and handed them to Dr. Synthesis who handed them to Igor who inserted them into the creature's head and torso.

"Excellent!" crooned Dr. Synthesis rubbing his hands together. "Now all there is to do is to bring it to life! Activate the animator ray, Igor!"

Igor promptly did so and a giant beam of electricity shot out from the ray on the right side and struck the creature. The electrical current traveled throughout its body from the outside in. Then suddenly its limbs began to move, its fingers began to twitch, its head began to shake, its eyes began to blink, and its mouth began to curl.

Then suddenly it leaped off of the slab and stood erect as it looked around curiously at its surroundings. "I feel... good! I feel... happy! Thank you, Master!" it said.

"Eureka!" shouted Dr. Synthesis. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Perfect!"

Just then Byron who was passed out on the floor suddenly came to. He sat up slowly and adjusted his hat. "Ooh... that wasn't very nice!" he exclaimed irritably. He looked up and screamed when he saw the monster made by Dr. Synthesis.

The monster noticed him and grinned toothily and approached him with its arms outstretched. Byron started to back away but then he saw the monster was actually smiling at him.

"I like children," it said sweetly. "Come dance with me little boy!" And he took Byron by the hands and lifted him gently up onto his feet and began rocking and swaying him back and forth.

Mr. Wogglebug looked on smiling while Dr. Synthesis looked on gaping in a mix of shock and horror.

"What is this?!" he exclaimed furiously. "He isn't supposed to make friends with the kid!"

Mr. Wogglebug chuckled and said. "Well, perhaps it's because he was given a good brain and a good heart," he suggested.

"You! How dare you! You ruined my great plan!" Dr. Synthesis roared with his eyes blazing red. He began to smash and break everything he could see and reach.

Igor took charge of the situation. "I think you all better get out of here! Quickly over here!" He gestured to the ray on the right side of the room which was the teleportation ray.

Mr. Wogglebug, Byron, and the monster all got under it and Igor turned it on and it zapped them instantly out of the lab. 


	6. Chapter 6

They all reappeared in the house's foyer and seconds later the grandfather clock chimed three times signaling another hour had passed.

Mr. Wogglebug looked at his two companions and said, "Alright, we've found four keys so far and we have nine more to find with ten hours left to find them. Byron, I think that now is the time for us to split up and search in different places as we are in this search together."

Byron agreed and then Mr. Wogglebug turned to the Ultimate Monster Dr. Synthesis had created and asked, "Are you willing to help us find the keys, Mr. Monster?"

"What's a key?" asked the monster.

"It looks like this," Mr. Wogglebug said as he took out one of the keys they had found from the bag he carried and showed it to him.

"Ah! Of course I'll help you. You have given me the heart to do so. You are my true master," he replied warmly.

Mr. Wogglebug smiled cordially and said, "Alright now Byron you go downstairs, Mr. Monster you go upstairs, and I'll see where the doors around here lead to, and we'll all meet back here within the hour, agreed?"

They all agreed to this plan and set off in the different directions.

Mr. Wogglebug opened the shiny golden door on his left side and entered. He found himself in a room with a large pipe organ in it and an old fashioned record player sitting on stand full of records. There was an old fashioned chandelier overhead lit with burning candles. There was also a large window with scarlet curtain spread open around it tied with skulls at each end, outside it he could see a bird resembling a vulture perched on an old gnarled black tree branch. In one corner he saw a large case, he opened it and found there was an old violin inside it.

He looked over at the record player and picked out one of the records and put it on and played it. On the first one he heard an Italian opera being sung. On the next one he put on he heard scary music so he quickly took it off and put on another one and on this one the music sounded creepy and he took it off and tried another one. The music on this one wasn't scary or creepy but it was strange. He took it off and tried another one and the music on this one was rather jazzy, he listened to it for a while and then put on another one and on this next one to his surprise he heard Gahan's voice on it.

"This is for you, Gahan. It's me, Gahan. I heard you're looking for the Scroll of 13 o'clock and you're planning to use it to rule the world. Now seriously, that seems a bit impractical, not to mention unimaginative. Sure if you had the scroll you could control time but so what? What does that have to do with ruling the world? Get real. More likely you'll just make a little mistake, like when you drank that stupid formula. You thought you'd get rid of me but I'm still around and you're still and idiot. You don't have a chance."

When this record stopped he took it off and put on the one that was underneath it and to his surprise he heard Gahan's voice again only much more maniacal.

"This is for you Gahan. It's me, Gahan. Of course I'm going to rule the world. After I possess the Scroll of 13 o'clock I'll learn to control time itself. Do you realize the implications? What with this power I'll control not only when things happen but whether they happen at all! I can make things happen over and over again until they come out the way I want! I can hold tomorrow hostage and I'll knock you into next Tuesday! You don't have a chance!"

Mr. Wogglebug felt stunned once again at the split personalities of the owner of this house. The bad Gahan really didn't sound like someone he would like to meet and the good Gahan, who presumably was the true Gahan sounded like someone he would like to help. But how was he to know which was the good Gahan and the bad Gahan when he met either of them?

Just then he heard a rather haughty and feminine voice from behind speak to him.

"I know something you don't know. I know how to tell the good Gahan and the bad Gahan apart."

He turned around and saw standing before a most striking woman with long silky black hair that flowed down almost to her waist wearing a floor length light purple gown. Her face was porcelain white and her lips were big and full and blood red and her eyes most strangely had a purplish tint to them. He knew the moment he saw her she had to be the vampiress he had heard mention of.

"You do?" he asked.

She nodded smugly. "When he shows up, before he even says anything, I know which one he is. You'd like to know how I do it, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I would if you please," he replied.

"I thought so. Well, I'm not going to tell you," she replied evenly. "After all, I'm sometimes bad myself you know."

Mr. Wogglebug frowned but said, "I understand. So why are you in here?"

"I often come here because I love music," she replied with a glinting smile.

Just then they heard a loud rumble of thunder come from outside the window and dark clouds covered the sky.

The vampiress sighed contently. "Storms are so violent, so dynamic, and they make the house so dark!" she crooned.

"So I take it you like the dark?" he asked.

She nodded. "I love it. Are you afraid of the dark?"

"No," he replied. "Why should I be?"

She gave him another smug smile. "You won't want to meet me after dark."

"Well... its not dark just yet," he said. "So I see no reason to fear you now."

"They say people change. I know I do," she replied coyly. "The best things are always saved for last. That's why night follows day."

"Well, if you really like music I think I might have something for you," he said as he reached into the carpet bag and took out the wooden music box and handed it over to her.

She turned the handle in its side and listened to the little melody that came out of it. Her body swayed to the music and she smiled with delight and said "Thank you very much, here is a token of my appreciation." And suddenly a key appeared in her hand which she gave to him and then she vanished as suddenly as she had appeared.

Mr. Wogglebug smiled with satisfaction as he put the key into the bag with the others.

He looked at the pipe organ and felt suddenly curious about it as he often was about old-fashioned things. He sat down on the stool in front of it and looked sheet book of musical notes in front of him which was set between two skulls with a candle on top of each one. He pressed down onto a key and heard a sound like a dog howling come out of one of the pipes. He tried more keys and with each one he heard the sound of a dog howling at different pitches.

There was one key he pressed that barely made a sound and dust came out of the pipe in front of it as though there was something stuck inside of it. He pressed the key again and again until finally in a cloud of dust the thing that was stuck inside it popped out. He caught it as it fell and found that it was yet another one of the keys.

He smiled and said to himself. "You never know what's going to work until you try it."


	7. Chapter 7

Mr. Wogglebug left the music room shortly and went into the foyer again. He looked up and saw a peculiar looking door up the stairs to the left with a large round eyeball with a yellow pupil protruding from it. So thus with his curiosity aroused he ventured up the stairs and opened the door with the eyeball in it which blinked at him as he opened it.

Inside he found to his amazement there was a giant sized green frog with yellow spots on its legs sitting crouched in the middle of the room. The most peculiar thing about this frog was that it had only one eye which was as big as he was resting on the top of his head. The eye had a light blue pupil in the middle of it and as soon as he entered it turned to look at him.

Other things he noticed in the room were a large television set in one corner with a very twisted antenna on top of it and a film projector off to the side next to which was a large projection screen and in the corner by the door was a small stack of film canisters.

He went over to the film canisters and reading the labels on them he found they were all the old classic horror films of the past era such as _Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf-man, The Mummy, The Invisible Man,_ and _The Creature From the Black Lagoon._ He then suddenly remembered he had found another film canister in the attic. He supposed it belong in here and so he opened the bag and took it out and laid it on top of the others.

The big one-eyed from was apparently pleased with his action as he let out a croak and stuck out his long red tongue and dropped a key off of it.

"Thanks," said Mr. Wogglebug gratefully.

He then wondered what film was in the canister he had just delivered. He picked it up and read the label. _Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._

"That always was my favorite movie," said a familiar voice suddenly from behind him.

He turned around and found himself looking at the transparent form of Gahan Wilson, the owner of this house who had greeted him when he first came in.

_This is it now, _he thought. _What did the skeleton say about him? Sometime his feet point to the right or left, and watch out if his eyes are glowing. _He glanced downward and noticed Gahan's feet were pointing to the right. He glanced upward and looked into his eyes to see if they were glowing. No, they weren't they were smiling.

"Hello, Gahan," he said.

"Hello, Mr. Wogglebug," replied Gahan warmly. "You haven't found all the keys yet. I wish I could help you."

"Well, I think maybe I can help you now," said Mr. Wogglebug. "I found the antidote to your curse and I made the formula. Here it is." He took out from the bag the glass flask of bubbling formula and handed it to Gahan.

Gahan gratefully took the flask from him and drank it all in one eager gulp. Then there was a sound like that which a bell makes when a new day has just begun and Gahan grinned ecstatically and laughed giddily.

"I'm cured!" he exclaimed. "From now on I'll be my real self. But you are still in danger. Find the rest of the keys and escape if you can."

"I will try Gahan, I will really try," said Mr. Wogglebug. "I'm glad I could help you."

"All I need now is the magic Scroll of 13 o'clock," said Gahan. "Find it for me."

"I'll try to do that also, Gahan," Mr. Wogglebug promised. "I know why it's very important to both of us that you have it."

"If you keep doing as well as you have been I have nothing to worry about," Gahan said confidentially. "I hope I get the chance to pay you back for all you've done."And so saying Gahan vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

Mr. Wogglebug looked over his shoulder and saw that there was another door leading out of this room which must surely lead into another one. He went up to it and noticed there were three knobs on it in a vertical row. For a moment he wondered which one he should turn and then he turned the one at the top.

This however proved to be a mistake as as soon as his hand made contact with the first knob a giant bolt of electricity shot out of it and went right through him. Then he could have sworn he heard the most evil chuckle come from somewhere as he collapsed onto the floor. Moments later he came to and opened his eyes but he could see nothing at all. For a moment he was afraid that the bolt of electricity had blinded him but then he realized that another curse had been placed on him and the room had just blacked out as a result of it. He also remembered that the curse wouldn't last long and so once again he closed his eyes and waited for it to wear off.

When the curse wore off he got up again and faced the door again and this time he chose the knob in the middle and to his relief nothing out of the ordinary happened and he opened the door and stepped into the next room.

Inside the next room the walls were covered with yellow and purple wallpaper and he noticed what looked like a coffin in one corner with a long arm reaching out of it with a tag on it that said Pull my arm.

Mr. Wogglebug walked up to the coffin and hesitated a moment before he bent the arm downward and there was a creaking sound and suddenly pictures of three different things flashed on the coffin's surface. The pictures settled on a bone, a worm, and a key. Then he realized that this must be some sort of slot machine and so he bent the arm down again and on the tenth try he got three keys in a row and the arm reached into the coffin and pulled out a key which it handed to Mr. Wogglebug who gladly took it.

Then he observed the rest of the room and found in the next corner there was a large blackboard with a piece of white chalk resting on it. He walked up to it and touched slightly and suddenly the piece of chalk jumped to life and wrote on the blackboard words which spelled out Want to play? He nodded and then the piece of chalk drew a picture of a half moon in one corner. He realized instantly this must be a game of tic-tat-toe and so he drew a picture of a bat below it and then the piece of chalk came to life again and drew another half moon across from his and then he drew another bat across from it. The game continued for a few moments until he finally got three bats in a row and suddenly a key appeared in his hand.

"Well, things just appear in this house," he said to himself.

Just then he heard the distant chiming of the grandfather clock in the foyer and knew that it was time he was due to meet Byron and the monster back there.


	8. Chapter 8

Mr. Wogglebug left the game room and went through the screening room with the giant one-eyed from watching him once again and then went back downstairs into the foyer where he met with Byron and the monster again.

"Well I found five keys," he said. "What about you two?"

"I found two," said the monster as he took out two keys and held them out to him. "One was hidden inside a book in the library and one was in an old trunk in the attic."

"Very good," said Mr. Wogglebug as he took the two keys from him. "What about you Byron?"

Byron looked up at him and grinned. "Boy, I really got back at that scientist guy. I put a vacuum tube in the iron maiden thing downstairs. He like that kind of stuff. So he went in to get it and the lid closed on him and then I heard kissing noises and he yelled 'Stop that! Stop that!' He really hated it. When the lid opened up the doctor guy was gone and the iron maiden gave me this key." He held the key out to him. "This place is weird but sometimes it's fun," he added.

"Well, it is a okay to visit but I wouldn't want to live here," replied Mr. Wogglebug as he took the key from Byron. "So this equals twelve keys we've found," he concluded. "We're still shy of one more, and also we still have to find the magic scroll for Gahan."

"Is this it?" asked the monster as he took out what looked like a large piece of golden rolled up parchment.

Mr. Wogglebug's eyes went wide. "Where did you find that?"

"In a spiders web in the attic," said the monster.

"I guess treasures really can be found in the most astounding of places," Mr. Wogglebug said as he took the Scroll from him. "Now if only Gahan was here so we could give this to him."

Almost as soon as he had spoken there was breeze and whirlwind swirling in between them and Gahan appeared seeming out of thin air.

"Why Gahan! We were just wishing you were here!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug in astonishment. "How did you...?

"It's a secret I'll never tell," Gahan replied with a smile.

"Is he the right Gahan?" Byron whispered to Mr. Wogglebug.

"Indeed he is," he replied, "for I gave him the formula which cured him." Then he turned to Gahan and held out the scroll to him. "Well now I believe this belongs to you?"

Gahan's eyes lit up with victory as he took the scroll from him. "Well done!" he exclaimed jubilantly. "Now the scroll will never be used for evil! And now I believe it is appropriate now for me to give you this." And so saying he took out the thirteenth and last of the keys they needed.

As he took the key from Gahan Mr. Wogglebug had never felt so stunned, so grateful, or so humbled.

"Thank you ever so much, my friend!" he exclaimed. "Now we have all thirteen keys. Now what do we do with them?"

"You put them in the keyholes in the side of the grandfather clock," replied Gahan.

And so they found the thirteen keyholes in the left side of the grandfather clock and put them into them one at a time and when the very last one was in its keyhole all the keys turned themselves over and the hands on the grandfather clock spun around wildly and when they stopped they were entangled together. And then suddenly the room became very bright and the fire in the hearth went out and the whole wall it was in lifted itself up and revealed a hidden giant golden door.

"There is your way out of here," said Gahan simply. "Goodbye Mr. Wogglebug."

"Wait a minute, Gahan," Mr. Wogglebug said. "What about Byron? He needs to go home too and he did help me to find all of the keys and everything. I couldn't bear to leave him behind."

Gahan smiled a very understanding smile. "Well, I suppose you're right. Okay, Byron. You are free to go home now also."

"Yay!" exclaimed Byron jumping up in the air.

And so Mr. Wogglebug took Byron's hand and together they walked through the golden door which opened for them on its own.

"Bye bye! Take care!" said the monster waving to them as they left.

When they stepped outside of the house they found the storm was now gone and the sun was out and shining brightly and the birds were singing and the butterflies were fluttering by.

Mr. Wogglebug took in a deep breath of the fresh air and sighed. "I feel so good now, like I've just made the world a better place somehow," he said. "Tell me, Byron, where do you live?"

"I live just on the other side of this hill," he said.

So Mr. Wogglebug led Byron back to his home where his parents were delighted to find him again. And also the citizens of Mourning Lane experienced much less bad weather thereafter.


End file.
